Reflective Portfolio1
Lingyun017
MLS2020-21TutorialWeek6KingGeealternativescenario-1.pptx
MLS Week 6
Topic:
What might/ought Bill Quinn have done?
Some deeper questions follow.
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Agenda
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Assignment 1 Questions and tips
Groupwork Review (Assessment 2) – Go to Canvas/Assessment 2/ hand-in next week.
Readings - Cascio, Collomb
Group Exercise on King Gee and Bill Quinn
Implications for your Reflective Portfolio and thus Action-Guiding Principles
Next week
Ass1 Checklist
Which organization? Tips…
Format? Professional Report
Grammar – see UTS-HELPS/Library
Referencing – UTS APA7th
Distinguish normative/vs empirical, justify your position (e.g. positivist, interpretive, critical?)
Use different conceptual frames
At least 2 org theories for analysis
At least one (different) theory for Recommendations
2500-3000 words excl. index/references
DUE 17 January
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Debriefing the King Gee simulation
What did the MD do well?
Possible improvements?
How realistic was the setting? (assess performance of other participants)
King Gee & Bill Quinn (the MD): What really happened
Lecturer: Dr. Walter Jarvis
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21937 Managing, Leading & Stewardship
Wednesday, 17 February 2021
Lecturer: Walter Jarvis
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Breaking the news
“I have bad news – the plant will close in 3 months – and
It is not your fault! – it is a sad reflection of the times and global pressures”
support packages: redundancy, counselling, up-skilling, etc
“we will be here for a while but suggest that you take the rest of the day off so that you can go home and talk this through with your family”
On the final day
Bill donned the KG overalls and cooked breakfast for all staff
“Last day was treated like a funeral wake: celebrating the past / characters / experiences; sad but positive; no aggression”
3 days after closure
An advertisement was placed in the local paper paid for by departing staff, thanking Bill Quinn & KG for the manner in which they had been treated.
families and past employees were invited
Key message, but now with bigger questions!!
MESSAGE: According to Bill Quinn his approach to the plant closure was about allowing the Kempsey staff to “leave with dignity”. Did you feel you left with dignity in the lived case? Explain.
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“Leaving with dignity” was vital to Bill Quinn, but how do we understand this everyday word “dignity”? Let’s explore:
For Immanuel Kant (1785) – the recognised source for “dignity” as a constitutional right - it is autonomy/self-legislation – ie, free from imposed authority (eg Church, monarch or dictator). See all UN declarations following WWII (1947).
Post WWII, in the new Constitution of Germany (1949) the fundamental role/purpose of the State is to protect dignity (Article 1) – a values-laden renewal, directly linked to Kant’s view of dignity as autonomy/freedom from imposed authority. But also as a public good - not as the sole pursuit of personal “HAPPINESS!!” See Eberle, E. (2002) Dignity and Liberty: Constitutional Visions in Germany and the United States.
Continued next slide …
Key message from Bill Quinn, but now with bigger questions!! What is “dignity”? Here are two major contemporary responses:
For Andrea Sangiovanni (2017) dignity means being treated as a moral equal, ie, not as a moral inferior (subordinate). Being treated as “inferior” would be the imposition of an arbitrary decision, the absence of prior consultation, consent and justification … OOPPS, King Gee?? Oh dear!!
Sangiovanni, A. (2017) “Humanity without Dignity: Moral Equality, Respect and Human Rights”. Harvard University Press. Available as e-book in UTS Library.
For Isabelle Ferreras (2017) equality in dignity (as autonomy/consent) is foundational to the human right to democracy – political AND economic. Dignity here is the labour/human person need for meaningful work/expressive humanity as an essential counter-balance to the sole historical (post WWII) neoliberal “pursuit of profit” as corporate purpose - now demolished by 2019/20 Royal Commissions into poor corporate behaviour in (i) Banking and Finance then (ii) Aged Care & Safety sectors.
This same dignity equates democracy for employees in their workplaces to their rights as citizens to political democracy. Two “boards” (chambers) with equal voting power, with an executive governance. As in English history – House of Lords (capital) and House of Commons (people). Corporation as political entity.
Ferreras, I. (2017) “Firms as Political Entities: Saving Democracy through Economic Bicameralism” Cambridge University Press. Available as e-book in UTS Library.
Ferreras, et al (16 May 2020): manifesto signed by 6500 academics worldwide – “Let’s democratise and decomodify work”.
https://democratizingwork.org
The aftermath
At no stage did Sara Lee offer support to Bill Quinn; neither did Bill ask for support.
Bill Quinn dismissed the Sara Lee approach as “management by excel spreadsheet” (i.e. just numbers) – “which is no fucking management at all!!”
Bill Quinn’s family is from Kempsey, where Bill grew up. His father commented to him: “You have ruined this town” .
After the closure of two more plants in Australia Bill had a nervous breakdown & did not work for 2 years. He now works independently and says it will stay that way.
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21937 Managing, Leading & Stewardship
Wednesday, 17 February 2021
Lecturer: Walter Jarvis
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What can be learnt from the readings? (Cascio 2002 & Collomb, 2015 )
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Cascio:
Collomb:
to what extent recommendations for responsible restructuring were applied? What are the consequences?
what are the implicit assumptions that drove decisions in the King Gee case?
King Gee – Alternative scenarios
Having instigated the POS principles in group work- magnify this.
The group work reviews indicated that students felt that their groups could do better in taking turns to speak up in class. So consequently today (What could Bill Quinn do?) I discussed with my classes how some students are more confident to speak for the group – “go on – you do it- you’re good at it!” I then tell them I am creating a safe space for all group members to have a voice – I need to hear their voice if I am to assess them fairly. No one has to be perfect. I ask the “group cohesors” to put up their hands and then ask them to encourage those members who may feel nervous about speaking. Worked really well and I complimented them.
Task:
Each group to draw on the above mentioned readings and the lecture on Stewardship to develop an alternative approach to Bill Quinn’s (acting as agent to Sara Lee) solution.
Questions:
What theory/practice informed his (Sara Lee) actions as in the “lived-in” case?
From your readings this week and from the lectures so far, what theories might be better used to inform a “good” solution?
How would you employ those theories in a practical sense? Describe the actions you would take to attempt to resolve the issue. Present a different solution to the situation to class.
In addition, pay attention to:
Use of available theory gained from prescribed readings and mediated by considerations of phronesis
Demonstration of creativity/initiative
Practicability of outcome
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What could Bill Quinn have done to avoid having to close the plant?
Think phronesis (practical wisdom)
Think Shareholder v Stakeholder perspective
Think Stewardship
Be creative
Team exercise
Break out - 15 mins discussion and preparation
Plenary 5 min presentation per team
Plenary: Wrap up/summary by tutor
Week 7 preparation
Email MLS Group Work Review (see Canvas/Assessment 2)
Review material on commons/co-operatives/employee ownership posted on UTS Canvas and discuss with your MS Teams learning group.
Assigned Leaders Group Discussion Exercise: Assessing Your Leadership Skills, (see link via UTS Canvas). Students must read the exercise individually (not in their groups) and be prepared to discuss each of the scenarios.
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